Your Handy Marketing Automation Terminology Guide - 70 ... · GLOSSARY OF MARKETING AUTOMATION...

Your Handy Marketing Automation Terminology Guide - 70 Must-Know Terms

A glossary of terms to demystify marketing automation

G L O S S A R Y O F M A R K E T I N G A U T O M A T I O N T E R M S | 2

Introduction ................................................3A/B Testing ..................................................4Advanced Blog Post Scheduling ...............4Advanced Lead Scoring .............................4Advanced Segmentation ...........................4Analytics .....................................................5Behavioral-Based Automation .................5Blog .............................................................5Branching Workflow ..................................5Buyer’s Journey .........................................6Buyer Persona ............................................6Call to Action (CTA) ....................................6Click-Through Rate (CTR) ..........................6Contact .......................................................6Content Management System (CMS) ..........7 Content Marketing .....................................7Conversion .................................................7Cost Per Lead (CPL) ...................................7Custom Domain .........................................7Customer Relationship Management (CRM) ....7DKIM ...........................................................7Drag-and-Drop ...........................................8Drip Campaign ...........................................8Dynamic Content .......................................8Dynamic Lists ............................................8Email Marketing .........................................9Engagement ...............................................9Filter ...........................................................9Form ...........................................................9

Inbound Marketing ...................................9IP Address ..................................................9Landing Page ...........................................10Landing Page Funnel ..............................10Lead ..........................................................10Lead Generation ......................................10Lead Nurturing ........................................10Lead Score ...............................................11Life of the Lead ........................................11 Marketing Automation Platform ............11MarTech ....................................................11Media Center ............................................11Metrics ......................................................11Mobile CRM ..............................................12Mobile Optimization ...............................12Multiple Device Tracking ........................12Page Tracking ..........................................12Pay-Per-Click (PPC) .................................12Point-and-Click Editor ............................12Progressive Profiling ..............................13Render Testing ........................................13Responsive Templates ............................13ROI ............................................................13RSS Email Syndication ............................14Sales Funnel .............................................14Sales Pipeline ..........................................14 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ........14Segmentation ..........................................14Site Visitor ................................................15Social Media .............................................15

Social Media Conversions ........................15Social Media Engagement .......................15Social Media Monitoring ..........................15Social Media Profiling ..............................16Social Media Publishing ...........................16Split Testing ..............................................16Third-Party Postback ...............................16Time-Based Automation ..........................16Trigger ..................................... ..................16Workflow ...................................................16WYSIWYG ...................................................16

TABLE OF CONTENTS


IT’S TIME TO GET “IN THE KNOW”

For businesses involved in digital marketing, marketing automation has quickly

become a game-changer. Customizable and scalable platforms are available to

businesses of just about any size.

At Responsory, we’ve relied on many different marketing automation solutions

over the years. Whether you’re looking for an email marketing tool or a full service

platform, there are terms and definitions you should know. In fact, many of those you

find in our Glossary will help you define your marketing automation needs and goals.


MARKETING AUTOMATION GLOSSARY

Here are some basic marketing

automation terms you should be familiar

with before getting started.

A/B Testing

The process of comparing two versions

of marketing content, typically a web

page or an email, to determine which

version produces better results.

Most A/B testing is directed toward

improving conversion rates.

Also called: Split Testing

Advanced Blog Post Scheduling

There are optimal times of the day and

days of the week to publish blog posts.

Rather than waiting to write content at

that time or just publishing whenever

it’s completed, marketers can schedule

blog publication in advance.

Advanced Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is the process by which a company ranks leads based on data. This gives salespeople an accurate picture of where leads are in the sales funnel, as well as an idea of how to

reach them in a way that maximizes

their chance of conversion.

Advanced Segmentation

Leads rarely fit an identical pattern. This

is why it’s important to segment your

audience and develop campaigns and

messaging for specific buyer personas.

Advanced segmentation enables

marketers to automatically divide leads

according to specific characteristics.

They can then analyze specific groups

of traffic data and use their insights to

make better marketing decisions.

While it’s important to know how many people viewed an email and clicked on links within it, it’s their activity once they’ve clicked that is most important.

Marketers use after-the-click email tracking to find out more about what

inspired their audience to take action.

| A/B Testing


Analytics

Analytics is the general term for

meaningful patterns in data collected

from websites, landing page campaigns,

emails, paid Google AdWords, forms

and social media. Analytics give insight

into a company’s customer personas,

their behavior and the typical customer

journey. Also called: Insights

Behavioral-Based Automation

Tracking a lead’s online behavior and

then using this information to automate

marketing and lead generation efforts.

Examples include: (1) clicking on an email

that triggers a specific follow-up email,

(2) visiting a page that puts a lead on a

specific list, (3) completing a form that

triggers delivery of a specific piece of

content, etc.

Blog

Websites are typically broken up into two

types of content: web pages that deliver

information on the company, and blog

posts that deliver engaging content on

a variety of topics. Short for “web-log,”

blog posts tend to be more timely and

conversational in style. They also invite

feedback through comments, which can

be used to engage visitors and cultivate

the company brand. Blogs are the original,

and perhaps most important, form of

social media and can be an efficient way

to attract the attention of search engines.

Branching Workflow

Branching logic is when marketers use

certain pre-set conditions to trigger

an automated action. Once an action

is triggered, it pushes leads through

workflows to a desired outcome. In its

simplest form, actions are determined

on a “yes” or “no” basis. If “yes” then

“Action 1” happens; if “no” then “Action 2”

happens. Long chains of “yes” and “no”

outcomes and their associated actions are

branching workflows.

| Analytics


Buyer’s Journey

The different stages that buyers go

through to become aware of, evaluate and

purchase a new product or service.

Before you start creating content to

capture leads, it’s important to map

out your buyer’s journey. This includes

identifying customer behavior, information

needs, key search terms and types of

content that make sense for each stage.

Buyer Persona

A buyer persona is a hypothetical

customer made up of common attributes

typically seen in real buyers. Based on

real data, personas reflect who customers

are, what drives their behavior, and how,

when and why they buy certain things.

A business can have multiple buyer

personas. The more detailed the personas

are, the better.

Call to Action (CTA)

Calls to action are a crucial part of every

marketing campaign as they let visitors,

leads, and consumers know which action

businesses want them to take (e.g. call

now, download this white paper, fill out

this form, etc.)

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Typically presented as a percentage, the

click-through rate is the metric of people

visiting a web page who clicked on a link

or button for a particular offer.

It’s a measure of the effectiveness of

an online marketing campaign,

especially a pay-per-click campaign.

It’s calculated as ‘clicks’ divided by

‘impressions’ equals ‘CTR.’ Also called:

Click Rate, Click-Thru Rate

Contact

A contact is anyone who has been in

contact with a company — by phone,

email, online form, social media and

so on. Contacts are not always leads,

| Buyer Persona

Chris / CEO Laura / VP OPS Mark / CFO

Yvonne / CMO Nate / UX/UI Jess / CSR


but leads are always contacts.

Also called: Prospects

Content Management System (CMS)

Content Management Systems are

platforms that enable marketers to create

online content for a website or a blog.

They typically come with all the tools

needed to create, edit, schedule and

even A/B test content. Your marketing

automation platform should integrate

with a variety of CMSs.

Content Marketing

A segment of the marketing function that

involves the development and sharing

of valuable informational material online

(e.g. blog posts, articles, presentations) to

a clearly defined audience. The material

does not explicitly promote a product or

brand, but is intended to drive profitable

actions by the audience.

Conversion

An action that’s counted when someone

interacts with your marketing or sales

efforts and then takes an action that

you’ve defined as valuable to your

business.

Cost Per Lead (CPL)

In an online advertising pricing model, the

cost per lead is what the advertiser pays

per each business or consumer that shows

interest in the vendor’s offer. A lower cost

per lead is desireable.

Custom Domain

A custom domain is a unique, branded

name that identifies a website.

They appear in the address bar at the top

of every browser, and they are what we

use to navigate around the web every day.

It’s important for custom domains to be

brief, memorable and easy to share. Also called: Vanity URL

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Customer Relationship Management

platforms are used to collect contact

information, establish sales pipelines and

drive leads to conversion. Your CRM and

your marketing automation platform work

together. Some marketing automation

platforms include a CRM, others integrate

with CRMs. Ideally, a CRM system would

be included within your marketing

automation platform.

DKIM

DKIM stands for “Domain Keys

Identified Mail”, which is an encryption

authentication method used by many

ISPs designed to detect email spoofing.

| Conversion


DKIM establishes whether or not the email

originated from an authorized system.

Then, it prevents spammers from stealing

the identity of legitimate entities by

permitting the receiver to check that an

email claiming to come from a specific

domain was authorized by the owner of

that domain.

Drag-and-Drop

There are typically two types of content

editor interfaces — code editors (for

programmers) and WYSIWYG, which

stands for ‘What You See Is What You

Get.” A drag-and-drop builder is a type of

WYSIWYG editor that allows you to select

an object with your cursor and “drop”

it in a new location. It’s an easy way for

users to plug different elements into an

email or landing page and see how the

finished product will look. No coding

experience is necessary. Your marketing

automation platform should offer this type

of interface.

Drip Campaign

Sending marketing information to

prospects strategically over designated

periods of time. This can be to nurture

prospects or leads through the marketing

funnel, to educate prospects, to onboard

clients, to perpetuate engagement,

etc. The term comes from the idea that

focused, intentional messages are being

dripped methodically over time.

Dynamic Content

Landing pages and emails are typically

created for one specific purpose, but the

messaging and visual elements won’t

necessarily resonate with every visitor

all the time. Dynamic content allows a

marketer to swap out areas of content

(e.g. subject line, headline, image, body

copy) based on the recipient/viewer — all

without writing code. Swaps are made

automatically by the platform based on

lead attributes that you identify.

Dynamic Lists

Dynamic lists are contact lists that are

created and organized based on pre-set

rules. A change in a lead’s behavior can

change his/her membership on different

lists. Dynamic lists allow you to generate

prospect lists that can be tailored

to any specific criteria. Also called:

Smart List, Segment

| Drip Campaign

OPEN?Y N

Y NN


Email Marketing

Email marketing is the targeting of

consumers through electronic

mail, including sending ads, requesting

business, or soliciting sales or donations. It

is meant to build loyalty, trust, and brand

awareness. It is considered one of the

most economical methods of

direct marketing.

Engagement

Engagement is any interaction between a

business and a lead.

Also called: Lead Interaction

Filter

Filters are used to refine a set of results

or actions in a marketing automation

platform. These refinements are produced

by a trigger, which ensures the resulting

list or action is well defined.

Form

A form is a data collection tool used within

websites to gather information from leads.

A form may be “native” and reside within

the marketing automation platform, or

it may be a third-party form that comes

from an outside provider. Either way,

data is collected from completed forms

and imported directly into the marketing

automation system.

Inbound Marketing

A marketing tactic that brings potential

customers into a company’s marketing

funnel through a combination of SEO,

valuable content like white papers,

webinars, blog posts, videos and social

media. Inbound marketing is becoming

a popular (and more cost effective)

alternative to outbound, “push-style”

marketing tactics. Typically, inbound

marketing includes the use of a

marketing automation platform to

carry out these initiatives.

IP Address

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is the

unique string of numbers separated by

periods that identifies each computer,

| Inbound Marketing

Content Marketing Web Pages Social Email Blogging

Calls-to-ActionAnalyticsLanding PagesSEO


printer, or other device using Internet

Protocol to communicate over a network.

Certain business intelligence can be

gleaned from an IP address – e.g. the

type of device a visitor is using, where the

visitor is located generally, how often the

visitor has visited a given site and how

long they have stayed on a site in general

or on specific pages. Reverse IP lookup is

a key marketing automation feature that

allows users to determine the domain

name associated with an IP address.

Landing Page

A landing page is a specific web page that

a visitor can visit or “land” on from a link

or an ad. It is built to engage a visitor with

information that is specific to the ad, to

the clicked link or to a certain keyword. Its

purpose is to convert. Typically, the visitor

to the landing page provides information

via a form in exchange for a marketing

offer, such as an eBook or webinar. This

page should only display content that

is specific to the advertisement, search

keyword, or link clicked.

Landing Page Funnel

Also referred to as a “conversion funnel,”

landing page funnels are pre-determined

pathways composed of different

webpages, established by marketers

and tracked by analytics. These funnels

are tailored for conversion, and contacts

are expected to complete the steps in a

specific order.

Lead

A lead is a contact that has the potential to

become a customer.

Lead Generation

Identifying contacts that may have interest

in your product or service and attempting

to pull them into your sales funnel.

Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing is the process of managing

relationships with leads that are not

necessarily ready to purchase. The

purpose is to win their business when

they are ready to buy. A lead nurturing

workflow includes automatically following

up with leads, guiding them through the

| Landing Page Funnel


buyer’s journey, and finally, converting

the leads into customers. Also called:

Drip Marketing

Lead Score

Lead score is a key feature of a lead

management system. Contacts and leads

are scored based upon their actions,

behaviors, engagement level over time,

profile, demographics and more. Each

action or behavior has an assigned point

value designated by the owner of the lead

management system. These point values

automatically accrue as the contact

progresses through the buyer’s journey.

When the lead score hits an established

threshold, the lead converts into a

qualified lead that can be passed to sales.

Also called: Score, Lead Grade

Life of the Lead

A timeline of all of the interactions

between a lead and a business,

including website activity, marketing

communications, event attendance and

more. Also called: Lead Interaction

Timeline, Activity Log

Marketing Automation Platform

Software-as-a-service that enables

marketers to automate many repetitive

tasks such as emailing, maintaining social

media and various website interactions.

It is designed to drive more leads, convert

those leads to sales and prove the ROI

of marketing campaigns. A marketing

automation platform should also have the

ability to integrate with other marketing

tools (CMS, CRM, meeting software, social

media, etc.) to provide a single platform

for centralized management and analysis.

MarTech

The collective software tools and

platforms used by marketers to improve

the effectiveness and efficiency of

marketing and to show return on a

marketing investment. This includes, but

is not limited to, marketing automation,

customer relationship management (CRM)

and social media measurement platforms.

Media Center

A repository that allows you to create

trackable media such as videos, podcasts

and sound clips that can be used in

emails, automation tasks/workflows and

notifications. Marketing automation is

used to track your leads’ interactions with

this important content and follow up with

them in a meaningful way. Also called:

Content Files, File Manager, Media

Library, File Storage

Metrics

The term “metrics” refers to

general statistics and performance

measurements. Metrics allow firms to

track lead behavior over time and create

greater precision in the execution of

marketing activities. They help marketers

identify, target and effectively reach leads


by studying their preferences, behavior

and more.

Mobile CRM

Sometime called mCRM, Mobile Customer

Relationship Management refers to the

capacity to use handheld devices to

access a CRM. No longer limited to a

stationary desktop computer, mobile CRM

allows remote staff to manage their lead-

generation efforts, sales pipelines and

marketing campaigns from just

about anywhere.

Mobile Optimization

Mobile optimization refers to the

calibration of the pages displayed on a

website so as to accommodate the device

used to view it. Sometimes referred to

as “responsive design,” all site pages

will appear to automatically arrange

themselves or simplify for optimal

viewing based on a given user’s screen

size and orientation.

Multiple Device Tracking

Multiple device tracking offers a continuity

of visibility into the various devices used

by the same lead. For example, if a user

first visits the site with a desktop and

then subsequently on a smartphone, the

different interactions are still identified

as being with that one user. In the past,

these visits would have been reported

as involving two different users. Since

offline and online engagement are both

ubiquitous and valuable, a marketing

automation platform must provide this

feature to be effective.

Page Tracking

Page tracking measures the number

of views for each particular page on

a website. It is one of a number of

interactions that are measured

with analytics.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

A type of internet advertising where a

company places an advertisement on a

website and pays a sum of money to the

host website when a user clicks on to

the advertisement. The most common

example of PPC advertising is Google

AdWords. A marketing automation

platform will measure your PPC

advertising as part of campaign analytics.

Point-and-Click Editor

A point-and-click editor is another

alternative to backend coding. It works

| Mobile Optimization


by placing the cursor on a “hot spot”

or link, and clicking to activate that

function. Point-and-click permits the user

to install elements of code into a page

without actually programming. Unlike

a drag-and-drop editor, which enables

users to move elements around when

customizing an interface, point-and-click

is a more common way to create and edit

content and functionality. Most marketing

automation platforms offer

this technology.

Progressive Profiling

Rather than discouraging visitor

engagement by requesting too much

information, progressive profiling boosts

lead generation by gathering user data

over time. Ideally, this is accomplished

through a series of less demanding touch-

points that advance the lead through the

sales funnel. An alternative to progressive

profiling is autocompleting forms, which

allows you to display new form fields to

prospects based on the data points that

have already been collected. Not having

to present prospects with long forms to

get all their information at once results in

higher conversion rates.

Render Testing

Render testing is a form of cross-platform

quality assurance for marketers who

use email marketing as part of their

campaigns. It offers the capacity to test

emails and email campaigns for potential

problems that might show up on the

different email platforms and devices that

recipients use (e.g. Gmail, Outlook, Apple

Mail, mobile devices, etc.).

Responsive Templates

Responsive templates are pre-built sites

and pages that utilize a responsive design,

meaning the design is effective on all

device types. The templates allow for a

variety of different looks while maintaining

a reliable and efficient implementation.

ROI

ROI stands for “return on investment.”

The formula is: ROI = (Net Profit / Cost

of Investment) x 100 and it is usually

expressed as a percentage. It is one

of the most important metrics for a

business — it compares all investments

made in marketing against the resulting

conversions, i.e. sales. Marketers

can prove ROI with a marketing

| Point-and-Click Editor


automation platform.

RSS Email Syndication

A “Rich Site Summary” or “Real Simple

Syndication” (RSS) feed is a means of

automatically collecting new or recently

updated content from your own site (e.g.

blog posts) and syndicating it via email

to subscribers.

Sales Funnel

Sales funnel (or conversion funnel) is

a term used to describe the journey a

consumer takes through marketing and

nurturing until a conversion results. The

funnel visual is used to illustrate the

decrease in potential customers that

occurs at each step of the process.

Sales Pipeline

A sales pipeline is a visual representation

of prospects and where they are in

the sales process, the final step being

conversion into a sale. The term is also

used to describe the process through

which sales teams work to convert a

lead into a paying customer. The sales

pipeline is typically visually presented

in a customer relationship management

system (CRM).

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Refers to various strategies employed to

ensure that a site appears high on the list

of search engine results for specific terms.

The purpose of SEO is to maximize web

traffic. There is a distinction between

paid results, i.e. Google AdWords or

other programs using paid placement,

and “organic” results, i.e. listings that

appear on the site as a result of relevancy

determined by the search engine’s

algorithm. SEO applies only to organic

results. In order for content to be found

by users online, it needs to be optimized

for search. Most marketing automation

platforms and CMSs incorporate some

SEO analysis and recommendations to

assist marketers in optimizing content.

Segmentation

The process of separating your target

audience into groups that act similarly.

Messaging will ideally be tailored to

specific segments in a way that reflects

their specific experiences or interests. In

a marketing automation platform, these

segments can be turned into lists and

| Sales Funnel

Awareness

Purchase

Interest /Consideration


then used to send targeted messages.

Site Visitor

A site visitor is anyone who lands on a

website. Typically they are anonymous,

and an IP look-up is required to determine

who they are, what sites they have come

from and numerous other behaviors

and traits. Reverse IP look-ups typically

work only on businesses as opposed

to individual visitors. Analysis of a site

visitor can be used to suggest specific site

options or content.

Social Media

Social media websites and applications

allow users to create and share content

or to participate in social networking.

Blogs were the first form of social

media, but in recent years, most social

media applications tend to exist within

the context of a proprietary platform.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

and Snapchat are examples of social

media. A key feature of a marketing

automation platform is its ability to

integrate with social media.

Social Media Conversions

Social media conversion refers to social

media visitors who are guided towards the

sales funnel and ultimately become sales.

Social Media Engagement

Social media engagement usually refers

to any kind of interaction by a visitor with

a brand’s social media profiles. A “like” on

Facebook or a “retweet” on Twitter are

examples of this type of interaction.

Social Media Monitoring

Social media monitoring is the tracking

of social media for information about an

individual, organization or business.

Marketing automation platforms

integrate all monitored social media

accounts into one dashboard for

easier management.

| Segmentation


Social Media Profiling

A social media profile is a description

of an individual’s social characteristics

as identified through social media sites

such as LinkedIn and Facebook. As with

brand personas, social media profiling

enables marketers to create better targeted messaging and also to connect with thought leaders and online communities.

Social Media Publishing

Social media publishing is any form, new

or emerging, of online content creation

that allows for interactions such as

sharing, likes, comments, etc.

Split Testing

See: A/B Testing

Third-Party Postback

Marketers using a third party data-

collection tool (like a CRM) outside their

marketing automation platform can use

postback URLs to direct any information

collected on their site to that third

party. Postbacks are visible on URLs in

shopping carts and other e-commerce

transactions with an embedded code

such as “id=”. The id tells the site

what information to share and where

to send it.

Time-Based Automation

Time-based automation, also known as

“time-based event automation,” enables

an action based on a pre-set schedule or

a delayed delivery after a lead completes

a specific task. For the marketer, the

automation of recurring tasks produces

increased efficiency and usability.

Trigger

A trigger initiates an action or series of

actions with a lead, typically after the

lead has engaged in specific behaviors.

Also called: Automation Rules, Workflow

Starting Condition, Program Feeder

Workflow

A sequence of emails sent using

automation. Also called: Program,

Automation Program

WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is

what you get” and refers to the interface

of a web-based text editor. Drag-and-

drop and point-and-click editors are

forms of WYSIWYG. The alternative

is an HTML editor, which requires

in-line coding.

| Social Media

RESPONSORY.COM© 2019 Responsory, a Johnson Direct LLC company. All rights reserved. Duplication is prohibited without written consent.

Discover how marketing automation can help reshape your marketing strategy. Contact Responsory at [email protected] or (800) 710-2750

ABOUT RESPONSORY

Responsory, a Johnson Direct LLC company, is an ROI-focused, multichannel marketing agency located in the metro Milwaukee area.

The agency provides traditional and digital advertising, brand development, consulting, creative services, content marketing, email marketing, direct mail, interactive design and development, public relations and ePR, search engine optimization and social media.

Through its proprietary Direct Branding℠ process, Responsory delivers innovative, data-driven marketing solutions that achieve measurable results for clients. To learn more about Responsory, visit responsory.com.

THE BOTTOM LINENow that you have a firm grasp on some of the most common marketing automation terms, what’s next? You probably already know that powerful marketing automation capabilities can help you drive more leads, convert more leads to sales and optimize your return on investment. But it’s more than just investing in the right tools and understanding the terminology. Successful marketing automation requires a sound strategy, powerful creative and time and resources to ensure you’re continuously optimizing and learning from your results.

That’s where Responsory comes in. Whether you have a marketing automation platform already in place or you’re in the market to employ one, Responsory is your go-to-resource for strategic guidance and smarter execution.

Your Handy Marketing Automation Terminology Guide - 70 ... · GLOSSARY OF MARKETING AUTOMATION...

Documents

Transcript of Your Handy Marketing Automation Terminology Guide - 70 ... · GLOSSARY OF MARKETING AUTOMATION...